have a better chance next year,” Gunnar finished. The men continued talking above him, but Steele stopped paying attention to them and started walking out of the crawlspace. While the idea of being sold to another musher would have mortified him in the past, now it seemed like a blessing. He wouldn’t have to go back to Nome. He wouldn’t have to deal with the dogs that kicked him out. Over time, he could probably forget that entire ordeal ever happened. He would have a fresh start.

However, being sold to Mr. Vance meant that he would have to be on the same team as Sonya, something he did not look forward to. She was a half-wolf and he hated the idea of running under the command of a mutt like her. He wouldn’t have done it with Balto, and he wasn’t going to do it with Sonya.

“She probably won’t like it, but then again, neither do I. But, if I had to choose between being torn apart and working with her, I’d take the latter,” he thought, “The only way I’d ever get in trouble is if someone else found out what I had done on the serum run. Ugh, if that wolfdog found out, she’d completely-“ Steele’s thought was cut short as he emerged from the crawlspace and saw Sonya standing right outside the entrance, as though she had been waiting for him.

She glared at him, eyes burning with anger and her hackles were slightly raised. Steele thought that she was just upset that he had snuck under her own home, “Her wolf side has probably made her a little territorial.” “Look Sonya, I-“

“You…..” she growled, “You lying son of a bitch.”

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Chapter 6: The Secret’s Out

“Sonya, let me explain,” Steele said.

“Shut up! You lied to us!” she snapped, “You played us all like saps! If we had known what you had done-“

“Look, I really don’t know what you’re talking about-“

“I’M TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU ALMOST KILLED THOSE KIDS AND YOUR TEAM! I’M TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU TRIED TO COVER UP WHAT YOU HAD DONE!” Steele’s blood turned to ice after she said that. She knew about the serum run, and she looked about ready to destroy him, “Oh yes, I know everything now and soon everyone else will too. If I were you, I’d start running right now to get a head start. Otherwise, I’m going to have the entire town after you in five minutes.” His stomach jumped into his throat. If she told everyone, then they would kick him out. He’d be forced to wander through the cold wilderness again. He’d be an outcast, all because of the meddling of another wolfdog.

“No. Not again,” he said.

“Oh yes again. I’ve been waiting for the perfect chance for this. Now I can put you through what you put Amak through!” As much as she wanted to, she had to hold back the urge to attack him now. She knew she would need everyone else as backup, so she started to walk away from him, hoping he would take her advice and start running. However, Steele was not one to admit defeat easily. He wasn’t going to be ruined like this; not again.

He leaped at her, catching her by the shoulder and slamming her into the side of the house. In retaliation, she bit into his neck; not enough to cause a fatal wound, but enough to cause him excruciating pain. Steele screamed and thrashed around in an attempt to knock her loose, but her fangs held. Finally, he rolled onto his side, using his larger bulk to crush Sonya, forcing her to release him. Once he was free, both dogs quickly got up, but Sonya was the first to act, rearing up and knocking him to the ground with her front paws.

Before she could rear up for another strike, Steele lashed out, biting into Sonya’s leg. She screamed as he ground his teeth, trying to break her bones, and it took much effort to yank her paw free. The wound he had left stung, but it was nothing more than a few puncture marks; nothing she couldn’t handle. Sonya could tell that he was trying to stop her from telling his secret, but she would never back down to him. No matter what, she would stop him. She jumped at him, but he managed to dodge her before slamming into her side, knocking her to the ground. Once she was down, he put his paws on her neck and started to press. She gasped for air, but he held firm.

“I can’t let you ruin me like this,” Steele growled, “Just keep quiet and I’ll let go.”

“That may have worked years ago, but it won’t work now. I won’t let you get away with this,” she replied. She thrashed and squirmed to try to break free, but Steele’s heavier body held her down. Finally, she thrashed herself so that she was directly under him, and with all the force she could muster, she kicked out one of her rear legs, hitting Steele directly in his……… spot between his legs.

The effect of the blow was instantaneous to the male husky. He felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him and his eyes rolled back as he groaned in pain. While he was stunned, Sonya felt his grip slacken and she kicked him there once more to overwhelm him, causing him to collapse on his side. Steele lay on his side moaning while Sonya coughed from the assault. At this point, her original plan was forgotten, replaced by rage for what he had just done. He had lied to the entire town and had tried to strangle her to keep her quiet. He was still using the same dirty tricks he had always used to keep his reputation clean. Sonya would not let him get away with this, not again. Before he could get up, she jumped at him, biting and scratching anything she could reach. She wanted to hurt him for everything he had done to her. She wanted to see him suffer.

Suddenly, a pair of hands roughly grabbed her and yanked her off of him, “Sonya! What the hell is wrong with you!” Jonathan screamed as he dragged her away from Steele by her collar. Livid, she tried to break free and continue her assault, but he held on to her, dragging her inside the house, “I can’t have you attack your new teammate,” Jonathan said as he closed the door behind him. Sonya barked and scratched at the door to be let out, but no one replied. Eventually, she gave up and walked onto the couch, still seething.

She had been so close to stopping him, but as usual, the humans had always sided with him, never seeing what kind of dog he truly was, “If only they knew what he had done. If they knew how horrible he was, they would cast him out like an old tissue,” she thought, “If only I could tell them what really happened…”

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Three Years Ago

The disappointment over their defeat would have been much easier to swallow if Steele didn’t constantly gloat about it. While the rest of his team had taken their win graciously, Steele instead used it as another reason to taunt Sonya, saying that she was the reason that her team lost, “What went wrong Sonya? I thought wolves were supposed to be big and brave but you jumped like a scared pup!” he laughed, causing her to snarl at him. More than once Amak would have to come by in order to break the two up.

To add to their frustration, Steele loved telling overblown stories in which he would always end up as the brave hero who saved the day. Most of the dogs enjoyed his stories, but Sonya and Amak could tell when he was exaggerating and just rolled their eyes at him. On one of these days, Steele had decided to tell his abridged version of the most recent race. Among the inaccuracies were that Steele claimed to have overtaken fifty teams in the first half-hour (there were only a couple dozen teams in the race), that he had been able to dodge an avalanche (not impossible, but extremely difficult due to an avalanche’s speed), and also that he had been able to get through the storm by sniffing his way to White Mountain.

“Hey, that’s my trick you thief! I should sue!” Sonya thought as Steele got the last part of his story - the final dash to the finish.

“So there we were, neck and neck with the finish line only yards away. It seemed like Amak would win, so I thought to myself ‘Steele, you can do this. You just have to believe in yourself.’ I summoned all my inner strength, and pushed myself harder than I thought I could before and by some miracle, I was able to pull ahead and win the race.”

The other dogs ‘ooohed’ and ‘aaahed’ at this while Steele grinned and started walking around holding his head high, like he owned the place. At this point, Amak had had enough of Steele’s stories and decided to step up.

“Well, that’s a very riveting tale Steele,” he cut in, “But I remember that race too and there’s a small part at the end that you missed.”

Steele’s grin changed to a scowl, “Like what?”

“Oh I don’t know…” Sonya continued, “How about the part where you tried to snap my feet off at the end?”

“Uh, uh, I don’t recall ever doing anything that horrible,” he replied, putting on his best good-dog face, “I would never try something like-“

“Oh cut the crap Steele, you’re no hero or superdog,” Sonya shot back, “You’re nothing but a cheater and a liar. You’re lucky I didn’t rip you apart then!”

“Rip me apart eh? I knew it. I knew you were like that Sonya. Even though you’re only half of it, you’re still a wild wolf,” Sonya gritted her teeth as she glared at him, but he wasn’t finished with her, “Why don’t you go back and howl with your pack? That